Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1887-12-03

order; if he dreams of fire the heart is
disordered, and so on.
Coleridge is said TO have written
"Kubla Khan" in dream, and the in
tellectual feats of Condillac, Condorcet
and others during sleep form an interest
ing chapter in psychology. Among the
old-time superstitions connected with
dreams can be found the following in a
volume long out of print
"When you go to bed place under your
pillow a prayer-book open at that part of
the matrimonial service, With this ring
l thee We'd place on it key, ring, a
flower, sprig of willow, small heart
cake, crust of bread, and the following
cards. The ten of clubs, nine of hearts,
ace of spades and the ace of diamonds.
Wrap all these in thin handkerchief of
gauze or muslin, and on getting into bed
cross your hands and say:
"'Louna, every woman's friend,
To me thy goodness soon descend;
Let me this night in vision see
Emblems of my destinY.'
"If you then dream of storms troubles
will betide you. If the storm ends in a
fine calm, so will your fate; if of the ring
or the ace of diamonds, marriage; bread,
an industrious life; flowers, joy willow,
treachery in love; spades, death; dia-
monds, money; clubs, foreign lands !;
hearts, base children; keys, that you
will rise to great trust and power, and
never know want; birds, that you will
have many children; and geese, that you
will marry more than once"
This preparation to invoke the genius
of dreams is rather elaborate, but there
have been many maidens to carry it out
to the letter. In some parts of Scotland
a service similar to this is still in vogue,
and certain dreams have shaped the
course of lives. The women of the
Highlands will look through gold ring
at the moon before retiring, and repeat
a lot of words intended to secure them
good dreams when they have sought the
pillow. But should their visions not
conform to their desires, they will say
that they must have omitted a portion of
tne prescribed IOrmula.
The most curious part of dreaming is
the rapidity of action connected with it.
Thus in a few seconds of sleep the
dreamer traverses a continent, attends
coronations and reviews, ascends noun
tains, and has thousand and one ad-
ventures which, if performed when
awake, would exhaust year of travel.
There is extant a story of peasant boy
who fell asleep in hay field. He at once
began to dream and thought himself
transported to a far-off city, where he
lived for days amid the splendors of a
new people. In falling asleep he tipped
over his jug of water, and his last recol-
lection was the spilling of the fluid.
When he awoke he discovered that the
water was still running out, and a calcu-
lation showed that his wonderful vision
had not occupied the space of minute.
Some person has said that dreams
wildly impressed upon the mind are sure
to be followed by some event." Who
has not met faces which they seem to
have seen before? What person has not
been the actor in events that brought
with them familiarity striking enough
to impress him wildly? The most in
credulous of us think more of dreams
than we dare admit; and if we had dream
Interpreters at our beck there would be
more than one stolen interview. Visions